Martin Gore is a stupid weirdo, says Simon Cowell

Tuesday 27 November 2012 12:37 BST

Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell has branded Martin Gore “weird and stupid” after the Depeche Mode guitarist “encouraged” people to shoot him.

The pop star joked that the X Factor boss should be shot for what he has done to the music industry, saying: “His influence on the industry over the last God knows how many years… so many people think that’s what music is.”

In an interview with MusicWeek, Gore reportedly said: "I'm not advocating violence but I think somebody should shoot Simon Cowell."

Cowell, who has previously spoken of getting death threats, reacted with a volley of furious tweets.

One read: "I read Martin Gore wants to shoot me. He was in Depeche Mode. Do you realise how weird and stupid that makes you? Go and watch the news.”

In another he raged: "Why I am angry about weirdo Gore is a ton of people have got shot this year and people like weirdo Gore encourage this."

"People want to kill me," Cowell said in an earlier interview. "My bosses told me they have been shown emails threatening my life. They said one man wanted to stab me.